Music Exam marking fiasco

xapprenticex

From the look of it you are not going to get anywhere with complaints etc. Just do your re-sit, focus on that and better luck next time.

Rosemary7391

raddy59 wrote: »

Jazz performance - licentiate so level 6? (Hons level)
Basically it's an LLCM jazz performance = 3rd diploma level.
Because it's performance they are testing your ability to present a well thought out program to the audience, to communicate effectively and engage them. So you can;t go on stage and sit there like an imbecile, say nuthin', dressed in rags and present a program of mega fast mega loud avant garde/freeform no matter how technically "good" you play - at least thats what I thought and that's how I approached my previous....

Gotcha - know where you're coming from now! Definitely you're on the right lines with making it more like a proper performance. If I've found the correct syllabus, did you choose the Standard format or the Recital? Is it possible they thought you'd chosen the other one and marked accordingly?

Do you have a teacher? I wouldn't approach an exam of this level without some guidance from somewhere, it's a massive undertaking.

You might get more opinions here. (I know it's a different board, but they certainly used to discuss other boards including LCM. Whether they still do I'm not sure, as I'm not a regular there anymore.)

Savvy_Sue

I'd be astonished if any exams board did not have a formal complaints procedure, including how to escalate, and that's what I'd start doing now.

jobbingmusician

Yes, I was wondering if it was some sort of Licentiate/Diploma.

There are still a couple of things I don't understand.

1. how time critical is your appeal? I agree that they are dragging their heels in an unacceptable way. How long do you have to sort this out before you have to pay for your resit? Can you point out to them that they have a duty to sort out a proper response before this date? (Or have you actually paid for this already - it sounds as if you might have??)

2. Why are you proposing writing to UWL rather than LCM? Surely LCM are actually the people most invested in their own licentiate exam?

3. As you may imagine from my name, I know something about music exams I'll see if I can divert a friend who works at one of the big music colleges (not LCM, sadly) on to this thread.

Manxman_in_exile

OK - I'm beginning to understand a bit more now from subsequent posters.


But this still seems a bit arbitrary to me. With a written exam the candidate can always request a review because there is a permanent written record (their exam script) of what they've produced, and this can be looked at again if the candidate challenges their mark. But how can a practical exam/performance/presentation not be recorded in some way? I'm sure this may be expensive and/or difficult, but surely it goes to the whole essence of the exam? If the examining body can't afford this (or doesn't want to factor it into the original examination fee) isn't it all completely hit and miss?


What if one of the examiners says " I thought this was particularly ingenious and presented in a novel way" and one of the others says "Sorry, I must have missed that!"


I still don't understand one thing: is the OP saying they were not marked ( ie missed out) on compulsory elements of the exam, or are they saying that they were marked, but got zero marks on those elements?


The OP needs to make this clear to the accrediting body, not us

Manxman_in_exile

jobbingmusician wrote: »

2. Why are you proposing writing to UWL rather than LCM? Surely LCM are actually the people most invested in their own licentiate exam?

3. As you may imagine from my name, I know something about music exams I'll see if I can divert a friend who works at one of the big music colleges (not LCM, sadly) on to this thread.

I'm not sure the OP understands who "owns" this qualification. They mentioned UWL in #3

raddy59

JB - I was already late for a resit entry waiting for a reply. I spoke to exam admin who told me to wait as I'd have the late fee waived - the same day I spoke to them I had an emailed response as if they had been waiting for me to relent. This would be roughly a month after I had initially contacted the Chief Examiner, and 2 weeks after I reverted the issue to the Director of Exams. So now I had to apply for a resit as time was ticking.
The awarding body is a branch of UWL. Its now 2 months almost to the day since I first contacted them. I have now 10 days to the resit and still haven't got to the bottom of this - also preparing for the thing when I have had no performance feedback and the mentioning a style of music that I couldn't possibly have played makes me now wonder if any of them know what they're talking about (or examining) or if it's just bluster to get rid of my complaining.

Why are you proposing writing to UWL rather than LCM? Surely LCM are actually the people most invested in their own licentiate exam?

Just looking at UWL organisation chart again and digging around I notice that the Senior Pro Vice Chancellor at UWL responsible for LCM is actually Director of LCM also. Maybe I should contact her to get some resolution? What do you think?


It's tempting to take xapprenticex advice (above) but I only just failed, I have had no proper feedback about my concerns, there is no guarantee it won't hapen again (most likely will with the lack of, or "incredible" feedback) It's all such a bl@@dy mess.

Manxman

I still don't understand one thing: is the OP saying they were not marked ( ie missed out) on compulsory elements of the exam, or are they saying that they were marked, but got zero marks on those elements?

As I said earlier: it was a practical exam with a syllabus split between performance and technical elements (50/50 roughly). the examiners could mark each piece seperately (mad) or the perf. as a whole. The examiners marked each piece commenting technically neglecting to comment on the perf. elements. I pointed this out on my initial communication with them.

Rosemary7391

So they haven't commented on the performance elements, which is poor I agree. Are you sure they didn't mark them though? Is there a breakdown of the marks or just one whole mark?

It might be useful to annotate a copy of your report for whoever you speak to, so there can be no doubt what you're referring to?

raddy59

In the previous exam the examiners commented on and marked each piece but brought out stylistic and performance elements. In this exam there is a mark per piece but no comments whatsoever on performance, program, communication. So do I think they have been addressed - who knows, which is what I asked the chief examiner and what he failed to address. He instead brought up a new point about the 12 bar blues which I didn't, and more importantly couldn't, have played with these pieces. I expected them to know that, and amazed at him making the point as it is so obviously wrong

jobbingmusician

So - my friend who works for a music college (not LCM) has commented as follows. (They have stressed that they don't work on diplomas so that they should be regarded as a layperson, though.) I have inserted paragraph breaks as a normal size paragraph is difficult to read on this site, for some reason!

[FONT=&quot]"Asking for the official complaints procedure is good advice and should help ensure a more robust response from the institution if the OP is certain there is an oversight in the marking.

However if the technical deficiencies of the performance completely distracted from it and meant an automatic fail, the examiner may not be required to go into much detail about other aspects. It could be described as lazy examining but it may not be grounds for a refund.

In the industry it is standard practice not to facilitate or allow recording of assessments but to rely on the examiner's judgement.

It may be worth comparing assessment feedback with friends or teachers to see if other people taking the same exam have had a similar or different experience. Or find out which mid/senior manager has responsibility for these exams to direct the complaint to them. Going to the very top might not get the most productive response.

If making a formal complaint, it would be important to describe the specific concern in relation to the assessment criteria very clearly. And also to list a very clear timeline detailing all further correspondence. On this board the information provided by the OP is a bit vague and unclear in so it may be worth having someone proof read it to check it makes sense.

An official complaint should at least produce an explanation for what happened and might improve the institution's processes in future. If it's upheld it might result in a refund.

I think it would be wise to accept the judgement when it is finalised, even if it seems unfair, as getting a reputation as someone who complains in the industry might end up being counterproductive. But do complain if a genuine mistake has been made."[/FONT]